BREAKING — AP’s Devlin Barrett: “Self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be sent to New York to face trial in a civilian federal court.” Attorney General Holder announcing this a.m. President Obama said at a joint news conference in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama: “I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subjected to the most exacting demands of justice.”

AFP/Tokyo: “President Barack Obama Friday promised Americans a ‘transparent’ decision soon on whether to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan, as questions over his strategy there pursued him to Asia. ‘The decision will be made soon, it will be one that is fully transparent to the American people,’ Obama told reporters in Tokyo.”

Good Friday morning from Tokyo, where President Obama landed at the start of his maiden Asian voyage, which will take him from here to Singapore, China and South Korea. On Air Force One on the way over, the pool watched “All the President’s Men.” The press corps got here the night before and checked out the McDonald’s, sushi in the hotel and a fish auction market. The charter is a spacious 747, with in-seat golf and bowling.

ANNOUNCED THIS MORNING — Bob Bauer will (finally) replace Greg Craig as White House counsel. When POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin checked on this earlier this year, he was told through formal channels that is was nothing more than “a parlor game.” Based on that assurance, new media responsibly held back. The link-hungry, sensationalist Wall Street Journal (wink) later ran a vaguer story, which ironically probably prolonged Craig’s tenure, so it wouldn’t look like he was getting the boot. But the story line was set, and CNN’s Ed Henry headlined this morning’s story, “White House lawyer pushed out.”

WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCEMENT: "White House Counsel Greg Craig to Return to Private Practice — Bob Bauer to Serve as White House Counsel: The White House today announced that White House counsel Greg Craig will return to private practice and Bob Bauer will serve as White House counsel. 'Greg Craig is a close friend and trusted adviser who tackled many tough challenges as White House counsel,' said President Obama. 'Because of Greg’s leadership, we have confirmed the first Latina justice on the Supreme Court, set the toughest ethics standards for any administration in history, and ensured that we are keeping the nation secure in a manner that is consistent with our laws and our values. I’m indebted to Greg not only for leading the counsel’s office but for his many decades of service to this country as well. He has been a huge asset in the White House, and he will be missed. I will continue to call on him for advice in the years ahead.' "Bauer is currently a partner at Perkins Coie. He will begin serving as White House Counsel by the end of this year. 'Bob has served as a trusted counselor for many years to many elected officials and is known as a tough and widely respected advocate,' said President Obama. 'Bob is well-positioned to lead the Counsel’s office as it addresses a wide variety of responsibilities, including managing the large amount of litigation the administration inherited, identifying judicial nominees for the federal courts, and assuring that White House officials continue to be held to the highest legal and ethical standards.'"

ROBERT GIBBS IN THE TOKYO FILING CENTER JUST NOW: “The president sees Greg as a friend and trusted adviser and someone whose contributions to this administration are lengthy, particularly in setting up a process that will result in the [closure] of Guantanamo Bay. [Craig] was instrumental in both picking [and] nominating … the first Latina Supreme Court justice, in Sonya Sotomayor, in running a big operation in the White House, in helping to shepherd judicial picks in general — not just the selection, but through the committee process on Capitol Hill.”

AP's Mark Smith asked: "To be clear, Craig is NOT leaving because the president is dissatisfied in any way with his handling of Guantanamo?"

— WashPost’s Anne E. Kornblut and Ellen Nakashima: “White House Counsel Gregory B. Craig is expected to announce his departure as early as Friday, people familiar with the situation said, ending an embattled tenure in which he struggled to lead the closure of the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Craig will be replaced by Bob Bauer, a prominent Democratic lawyer who is Obama's personal attorney. The departure comes after months of dissatisfaction over Craig's management of Guantanamo policy and other matters and less than a month after officials said Craig was no longer guiding the effort to close the prison. His departure represents the highest-level White House shake-up to date. White House officials declined to confirm the expected announcement but have said for many weeks that they thought Craig would leave and be succeeded by Bauer.”

— ABC’s Jake Tapper revisits the “months of denials,” including Craig’s National Law Journal article in October: “I have no plans to leave whatsoever. … The rumors that I'm about to leave are false. The reports that I'm about to leave are wrong. I have no plans to leave."

DRUDGE banner, “HER TURN!” — excerpt from Sarah Palin’s book, “Going Rogue: An American Life”: “The campaign’s general strategy involved [her doing a debut interview] with a network anchor, someone they felt had treated John well on the trail thus far. My suggestion was that we be consistent with that strategy and start talking to outlets like Fox and The Wall Street Journal. I really didn’t have a say in which press I was going to talk to, but for some reason Nicolle [Wallace] seemed compelled to get me on the Katie bandwagon. ‘Katie really likes you,’ she said to me one day. ‘[S]he’s a working mom and admires you as a working mom. … She just relates to you,’ Nicolle said. … Meanwhile, the media blackout continued. It got so bad that a couple of times I had a friend in Anchorage track down phone numbers for me, and then I snuck in calls to folks like Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and someone I thought was Larry Kudlow but turned out to be Neil Cavuto’s producer. I had a friend call Bill O’Reilly after I was inundated with supporters in Alaska asking why the campaign was ‘ignoring’ his on-air requests for a McCain campaign interview. I had another friend scrambling to find Mark Levin’s number. Aboard the campaign plane I was within 25 feet of reporters for hours on end. Headquarters’ strategy was that I should not go to the back of the aircraft and talk to the press. At first this was subtle, but as the campaign wore on, Tracey or Tucker would call headquarters to request permission, and someone in D.C. would respond, ‘No! Absolutely not — block her if she tries to go back.’” MORE ON THE BOOK BELOW

SPOTTED — On the "Today" show, Chris Edwards and Kevin Madden, talking about the Palin story.

WHITE HOUSE PLANS FOCUS ON DEFICITS — Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei: President Barack Obama plans to announce in next year's State of the Union address that he wants to focus extensively on cutting the federal deficit in 2010 — and will downplay other new domestic spending beyond jobs programs, according to top aides involved in the planning. The president's plan, which the officials said was under discussion before this month’s Democratic election setbacks, represents both a practical and a political calculation by this White House. On the practical side, Obama has spent more money on new programs in nine months than Bill Clinton did in eight years, pushing the annual deficit to $1.4 trillion. This leaves little room for big spending initiatives. On the political side, Obama can help moderate Democrats avoid some tough votes in an election year and, perhaps more importantly, calm the nerves of independent voters who are voicing big concerns with the big spending and deficits. Even if Obama succeeds — and that’s a big if — it will be tough for many Democrats to sell themselves as deeply concerned about spending after voting for the stimulus, the bailouts, the health care legislation and a plan to address global warming, four enormous government programs. “Democrats have to reassure voters we are not being reckless,” said a Democratic official involved in the planning. “The White House knows this and that's why we'll be hearing a lot about reducing the deficit early next year. Democrats owned this issue for the past four years and cannot afford to cede it to Republicans now."

The White House adds: "The president is fully committed to passing comprehensive energy legislation, which will create millions of clean energy jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Setting a price on carbon emissions to spur a transition to a clean energy economy wouldn’t raise the deficit one penny, it would create an efficient, market-based incentive for companies to reduce their emissions."

PRESIDENT OBAMA ANNOUNCES A JOB SUMMIT, to be held at the White House at an unspecified date in early December: “We all know that there are limits to what government can and should do, even during such difficult times. But we have an obligation to consider every additional, responsible step that we can [take] to encourage and accelerate job creation in this country. And that’s why, in December, we’ll be holding a forum at the White House on jobs and economic growth. We’ll gather CEOs and small-business owners, economists and financial experts, as well as representatives from labor unions and nonprofit groups, to talk about how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again.”

THE PRESIDENT’s message to service members during his refueling stop at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska: “I want you guys to understand I will never hesitate to use force to protect the American people or our vital interests. (Applause.) But I also make you this promise: I will not risk your lives unless it is necessary to America's vital interest. (Applause.) And if it is necessary, the United States of America will have your back. We will give you the strategy and the clear mission you deserve. We will give you the equipment and support that you need to get the job done. And that includes public support back home. That is a promise that I make to you. (Applause.)” The president was greeted by “Hooah!”s in a hanger that included an F-15 and a Stryker armored vehicle.

DONNING HIS KNOLLER CAP, THE PRESIDENT NOTED: “It is wonderful to be here at one of America’s great air bases. I have to tell you I'm also really excited because I had up until today visited 49 states. So this is officially my 50th state. (Applause.) AUDIENCE MEMBER: Love you. THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Applause.)”

KNOLLER NUGGET — The real Mark Knoller, of CBS News, notes that’s a pre-presidential tally: “A CBS News tally shows that since taking office, Pres Obama has been to just 28 states. During George W. Bush's first year as Pres., he visited 39 states. It took him the remaining 7 years to bring his count to 49. Bush never made it to Vermont. Bill Clinton hit 50 in 8 years, but he only visited the last state, Nebraska, a few weeks before the end of his presidency. George H.W. Bush hit 50 in his one term as president."

** U.S. investments in global health are working. Worldwide childhood deaths have been cut in half over the last 50 years. See stories of Living Proof, including a special presentation by Bill and Melinda Gates, at www.LivingProofProject.org. **

GIBBS GAGGLES ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, EN ROUTE ALASKA:

ON AFGHANISTAN — “We have been there for eight years. And we’re not going to be there forever. … It’s important to fully examine not just how we’re going to get folks in but how we’re going to get folks out … The president … has asked for, and will want, benchmarks to evaluate our progress … That’s part of his desire to get a sense of where we are rather than committing to an open-ended conflict. … Our success in Afghanistan is most dependent upon the Afghan government being a true partner … What we have to do is establish a security environment that can ultimately be passed to the Afghans to provide that security.”

— No Afghanistan announcement before we return.

— Do you feel like this process is winding down? Gibbs: “I do. I think we’re making progress, and I think the president gets closer and closer every day.”

— There will be another meeting? “I think it’s probably likely — yes.”

— Afghanistan: “He will continue consultations and questions about this throughout the trip.”

— The president on the plane: “Mostly in the cabin doing a bunch of reading.”

— On whether the president will go to Copenhagen: “I don’t have any updates on that — no updates.”

— Mrs. Obama is not on the trip. “There are two calculations. One’s Malia. And the other one is Sasha. …

— Senior adviser Pete Rouse, the traveling chief of staff, is in charge. Also on board: David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett.

GATES CONDEMNS LEAKS ON U.S. AFGHAN POLICY AND FT. HOOD,” by NYT’s Elisabeth Bumiller: “Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates … unleashed a torrent on Thursday about leaks during the investigation of the Foot Hood shootings and during President Obama’s deliberations on sending more American troops to Afghanistan. First, on the president’s meetings on Afghanistan: ‘I have been appalled by the amount of leaking that has been going on in this process,’ Mr. Gates told reporters on his plane en route to a Wisconsin factory that is churning out thousands of armored trucks for use by American troops in Afghanistan. He added that he thought ‘a lot of different places are leaking’ and that he was ‘confident that the Department of Defense is one of them.” Then he made a threat: ‘And frankly if I found out with high confidence anybody who was leaking in the Department of Defense, who that was, that would probably be a career ender.’ The defense secretary moved on to the investigation of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who was charged in the deaths of 13 people on Nov. 5 at Fort Hood, Texas, and what Mr. Gates called ‘unconscionable’ leaks from ‘everybody out there with their own little piece of the action.’ Then he concluded, ‘Everybody ought to just shut up.’”

WEST WING MUST-READ — Darienne Page, the West Wing Receptionist (ROTUS) posted on the White House blog: “This Veterans Day Took on a New Meaning: In my family, military service is tradition. My grandfathers were infantry and airmen. My mother is a Gulf War veteran; my father was a Noncommissioned Officer. Among my siblings, three of us are Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans. ... Veterans Day is a day we call each other to give thanks for one another and for the time we have together; to pay tribute to those we have lost, and to say prayers for those serving in foreign lands. This Veterans Day took on a new meaning. The day prior, I had the honor of traveling to Texas with the President and First Lady, where we attended the memorial service for the soldiers and civilians that were killed at Ft. Hood. I watched as they individually addressed and embraced the families that had lost their loved ones, the soldiers who were wounded, and the first responders who provided aid. I witnessed the First Family grieving with our larger military family, and I was moved to tears.

“It reminded me, once again, why I joined Barack Obama's presidential campaign in the first place – a sense of duty. I wanted more for my country, and saw that he did too. I wanted more for our Veterans, and I see progress for them every day thanks to the tireless efforts of our Veterans and Wounded Warrior team. I wanted more for my family and my future, and I'm watching that become a reality through improved veteran’s education benefits. I see new laws and executive orders that help veterans find jobs and reliable health services. I see our commander in chief fighting for these policies, for people like me, the members of my family, and our troops — and I am proud to have served him and our country as a civilian and as a soldier."

PRESIDENT BUSH’S ANNOUNCEMENTS IN DALLAS YESTERDAY:

— “Former President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura W. Bush … announced that education, global health, human freedom and economic growth will be the major initial areas of focus for the George W. Bush Institute, and programs in all of these areas will begin in 2010. The former President and First Lady also said that across all its programs, the Institute will work to empower women and foster social entrepreneurship. … The President also announced that the Institute’s first fellow in human freedom will be Oscar Morales Guevara, who started a Facebook movement against the FARC in Colombia. He will organize a conference next year to bring together cyber-dissidents from around the world.”

— “The Bush Institute announced … that it will create a Freedom Collection, a repository of video histories and documents from the hallmark freedom movements of the twentieth century up to the present. … The Freedom Collection, which will be launched formally in 2010, will be housed in the Archive and will serve as a resource for current and future generations of activists, scholars and policymakers interested in studying the advance of human liberty. … The Video History Collection will be available online. It will contain testimonies from past freedom movements as well as ongoing struggles from major leaders of the movements as well as less well-known activists.”

— “The George W. Bush Institute, a think tank that is part of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, today announced five appointments, including its first Senior Fellow, nationally renowned education scholar Professor James Guthrie. … Professor Guthrie will become the Bush Institute’s Director of Education Policy Studies and will direct a program of research into ways to improve the quality of school leaders, including principals and administrators.”

TOUGH HEADLINE FOR DNC CHAIRMAN TIM KAINE — AP/Richmond: “Va. gov out of town for DNC as his state floods,” by the behatted Bob Lewis: “With his state under an emergency declaration because of heavy rain and floods Thursday, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine was in Arkansas for a Democratic fundraiser. … He appeared Thursday with Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe at a closed $250-per-ticket luncheon at a home in Little Rock. Kaine issued the emergency declaration Wednesday night, putting state agencies on alert to respond to flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida. Aides say the governor is in constant phone contact with the Emergency Operations Center and his chief of staff in Richmond. He returns to Virginia late Thursday and plans to visit flood-damaged areas across the state Saturday. Republicans say Kaine is neglecting his duties.”

HUFFPOST banner — “GOLDMAN'S MEMO TO PRIVATE INSURERS: NO HEALTH CARE REFORM AT ALL IS BEST” — links to Sam Stein: “A Goldman Sachs analysis of health care legislation has concluded that, as far as the bottom line for insurance companies is concerned, the best thing to do is nothing. A close second would be passing a watered-down version of the Senate Finance Committee's bill. A study put together by Goldman in mid-October looks at the estimated stock performance of the private insurance industry under four variations of reform legislation. The study focused on the five biggest insurers whose shares are traded on Wall Street: Aetna, UnitedHealth, WellPoint, CIGNA and Humana. The Senate Finance Committee bill, which Goldman's analysts conclude is the version most likely to survive the legislative process, is described as the "base" scenario. Under that legislation (which did not include a public plan) the earnings per share for the top five insurers would grow an estimated five percent from 2010 through 2019. ... The study's authors advise that if no reform is passed, earnings per share would grow an estimated ten percent from 2010 through 2019, and the value of the stock would rise an estimated 59 percent during that time period. The report, a Goldman official stressed, was analytic not advocacy-based. Their job was to provide a sober assessment of the market realities facing private insurers under various versions of health care reform.” SAM’S STORY, WITH LINK TO DOC

USA TODAY FRONT PAGE — “SWINE FLU HAS KILLED 540 KIDS, SICKENED 22 MILLION AMERICANS,” by Steve Sternberg: “Swine flu has swept through about 22 million Americans from April to October, killing an estimated 3,900 people, including 540 children, health officials said Thursday. The analysis represents the government's latest effort to assess a viral outbreak that in just six months has flooded emergency rooms and intensive-care beds in at least 48 states that have reported widespread flu cases. With flu season just beginning, an estimated 98,000 people have been hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). … What the numbers don't reveal is what will happen next, because no one knows yet when the flu season will hit its peak or how many waves of cases to expect, says Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.”

TOP TALKER — “PALIN'S BOOK CONFIRMS TENSION WITH MCCAIN AIDES,” by AP’s Richard T. Pienciak: “The rumors are true, according to Sarah Palin: The McCain-Palin campaign was not a happy family. In Palin's ‘Going Rogue,’ Palin confirms reports of tension between her aides and those of the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain. The vice presidential candidate confirms that she had wanted to speak on election night, but was denied the chance and says she was kept ‘bottled up’ from reporters during the campaign. Palin also writes harshly of CBS anchor Katie Couric, whom she describes as ‘badgering’ and biased. Palin's series of interviews with Couric were widely regarded as disastrous, leaving the impression of an ill-informed candidate who was unsuited for the job. The 413-page book with 16 pages of color photos but no index comes out Tuesday, Nov. 17. The Associated Press purchased a copy Thursday. ‘Going Rogue,’ with a first printing of 1.5 million copies, has been at or near the top of Amazon.com and other best-seller lists for weeks, ever since publisher HarperCollins announced that the book had been completed quickly and the release date was being moved up from next spring.”

BACKSTORY — “The Abortion Amendment: How It Got In, and Will It Stay In?” by National Journal’s Kasie Hunt: “Since the summer, Stupak had been threatening to try to take down the health care bill over abortion. During the contentious Energy and Commerce Committee markup in July, Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) refused to cede any ground to Stupak. When Stupak was summoned to the White House this fall, he says, Obama told him to find a solution — but abortion-rights supporters weren’t organized enough to discuss an agreement with him. … Late on November 6, the night before the House vote, Stupak was prepared to accept less than what his amendment ultimately gave anti-abortion lawmakers. He and other anti-abortion negotiators initially agreed to a provision that would have prohibited the public plan from covering abortions but would not have codified the restrictions on government subsidies. That compromise didn’t fly with the abortion-rights Democrats, however, who filed into Pelosi’s office later, where an emotional confrontation ensued. … Stupak credits the other side’s disorganization for the degree of his victory.”

THE GET — BARBARA WALTERS TO INTERVIEW JENNY SANFORD — ABC: The first lady of South Carolina will sit down with Walters in conjunction with her memoir, which will be published in April 2010. “Sanford is expected to discuss how she tried to stay true to herself and her family after husband Governor Mark Sanford disappeared and then revealed his extramarital affair with an Argentinean woman, the heartbreak behind the headlines of their marriage breakup, and being a political spouse. A special Barbara Walters hour interview will air on ABC News in April 2010.”AND: “Mrs. Sanford will also be doing a brief interview … for “Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009,” which is scheduled to air on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 10 pm.”

DOBBS WHACKS WHITE HOUSE — In a GQ interview before he resigned, by Luke Zaleski, who asks: “Have you heard from the administration?” Dobbs: “They are coordinating with a number of groups, including the Center for American Progress. The usual suspects. To carry out constant and absolutely insidious and sordid attacks on me. And the reason they're doing so, I'm the leading independent voice, and I am critical on their policies and intent, on unconditional amnesty, and leaving the borders and ports unsecure…” Dodds adds: “But I will not be intimidated, and I understand that. Therefore they're trying to intimidate my network and my owners.”

C-SPAN ALERT — Live on C-SPAN 2 today at 9 a.m. Eastern: Televised Canadian Supreme Court Hearing on Guantanamo detainee case: Prime Minister Stephen Harper v. Omar Khadr. Background, per C-SPAN: “Omar Khadr is a Canadian citizen detained at Guantanamo Bay since 2002. He was charged with killing an American soldier in Afghanistan when he was 15. His lawyers argue his constitutional rights as a Canadian citizen were violated.”

SPITZER SPEAKS (ON ETHICS) — NYT’s Katie Zezima: “Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer was invited to speak at Harvard University on Thursday about what first made him famous: policing Wall Street. Mention of the prostitution scandal that made Mr. Spitzer infamous, however, preceded — and followed — his address, which was arranged by a university ethics center. … It was not until the third-to-last question … that Mr. Spitzer was asked about the prostitution scandal. ‘I may sound like a conspiracy theorist,’ the man said, asking Mr. Spitzer whether he thought there might be ‘ulterior motives’ behind the timing of the disclosure of the prostitution ring that he said was leaked to the news media. Mr. Spitzer said he resigned ‘because I thought it was the right thing to do and the actions that led to it were wrong.’ He added, ‘Whatever may have led to their being public didn’t relate to anything I did and doesn’t excuse it.’”

** U.S. investments to fight malaria, measles, AIDS and other diseases are saving and improving the lives of millions of people in poor and developing countries — and as a result, empowering them to lead more productive lives. Since 2000, deaths from measles in Africa have dropped by 89%, and malaria cases are down at least 50% in 29 countries. See stories of Living Proof, including a special presentation by Bill and Melinda Gates, at www.LivingProofProject.org.**

It's too late on the Afghan announcement. The damage to troop morale is already done. I'm a former Marine Captain and I can tell you that a wishy-washy Commander in Chief is detrimental to morale. The unmistakeable take away by the troops is that our Dear Leader is unsure of the mission. Why should the troops be motivated now? Obama has no concept of this; indeed, I rather think he doesnt care. he never served nor was he ever asked why he didnt. He sees America as a sinner and the projection of military power as a vice. His mention of the financial cost of this decision is a laughable pretext. When has he ever shown concern over price tags? He's quadrupled the operating deficit already with phony and crappy stimulus and bailouts. His Obamacare will bankrupt us. Now, when it comes to national security and the so called "right war" (his words) his dithering is predicated in part on costs? he must think we're pretty dumb.. He's a worse Commander in Chief than Clinton